Make tracks for The Hague

AS EUROSTAR OPENS NEW ROUTES TO THE NETHERLANDS, LAUREN TAYLOR DISCOVERS ART, HISTORY AND GREAT FOOD IN HOLLAND’S THIRD LARGEST CITY

WHEN most people think of a mini-break in The Netherlands, they imagine the romantic winding canals, late-night bars and red light district of hedonistic Amsterdam.

But a 25-minute train ride from Rotterdam, now serviced by a new direct outbound Eurostar route from London, is the home of the Dutch parliament, royal family and the International Court of Justice. The Hague, often overlooked by British travellers for being more understated in its glamour, is in many ways The Netherlands’ most important city, and hosts some of the most significant Dutch art masterpieces.

Here’s how to explore The Hague and its smaller neighbour Delft.

1 SEE THE MASTERPIECES AT THE MAURITSHUIS

MANY come for one painting only – the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Delft artist Johannes Vermeer – which inspired a novel in 1999 and a film with Scarlett Johansson in 2003. It’s held at the world-renowned Mauritshuis, home to some of the most famous paintings from the Golden Age of Dutch art, which spanned the 17th century.

There are three Vermeers, several Jan Steens and more Rembrandts than Amsterdam, including The Anatomy Lesson (1632), one of his earliest masterpieces of leading physician, Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, giving an anatomy lesson to an audience of surgeons – one in a series of group portraits made for the Guild of Surgeons.

The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius – which found its way into pop culture with Donna Tartt’s novel of the same name – also hangs next door to the Mauritshusis Vermeers.

The 17th-century building is a masterpiece in itself, hailed as one of the world’s greatest small museums, and sitting next to parliament buildings on the Hofvijver pond.

Tickets: ¤15,50 (under 19s are free) mauritshuis.nl

2 MARVEL AT THE HAGUE’S ARCHITECTURE

IT’S PRETTY unusual to be able to stroll between parliament buildings and royal residences in a city centre, but in The Hague, there’s a very real possibility of bumping into the prime minister outside the Gothic Binnenhof castle or (perhaps) catching a glimpse of royalty exiting Nooredeinde Palace.

“Amsterdam is beautiful, but it’s all the same,” says local guide Remco Dorr. Meanwhile in the Hague, you can get lost in the higgledy-piggledy streets, with medieval and art nouveau styles existing in harmony with the modern skyline, and where there are no straight lines, because the city was built on sand dunes. (Seriously – stumble across any building work and there’ll be sand underfoot.)

Know where to look, and through several alleyways lie beautiful courtyards of hidden houses, originally almshouses built for maids who worked for aristocracy when they retired. Today, the 115 homes in The Hague are still strictly women-only communities.

3 STROLL AROUND THE PRETTY CANALS OF DELFT

If it’s quintessentially Dutch canals you want then Delft, a short tram ride from The Hague, is made up of 11 ‘islands’, 88 bridges and a canal system that’s over 750 years old. A huge fire destroyed two thirds of this small city in 1654, in which most of the wooden houses burned down, but some of the surviving stone buildings still remain – and the oldest house, dating back to 1548, sits opposite famed fish restaurant, Visbanken, that’s been serving since 1342.

Delft’s most famous resident was Vermeer, born here and buried at the Oude Kerk (old church), although ironically, his house (and Rembrandt’s) were knocked down in the 19th century because neither of the painters were well known. The Oude En Nieuw (new church) on Delft’s main square, a cattle market until the Seventies, is where every member of the Dutch Royal family is buried.

4 DISCOVER DUTCH HISTORY AT THE MUSEUM PRINSENHOF

IT BEGAN as a convent, then became the court of William of Orange, known as the founder and ‘father’ of Holland, and it’s now an excellent museum. It was also the location of his murder in 1584 (the first political one in history) and visitors can still see the bullet holes in the wall. William of Orange’s legacy was bringing the provinces together, standing for freedom of speech and the right to choose one’s own religion (the Catholic faith was banned in the 16th century), and these values are still in the constitution.

There’s a portrait of each king or queen since William I (aka Prince of Orange), right up to the current head of state King Willemalexander, and visitors can learn all about how the much-loved, uber-modern Dutch royal family came about (today, many of them have normal jobs and send their kids to comprehensive schools).

Tickets: ¤12, audio tours are ¤1 extra, and tours with a guide can be arranged for ¤80 per group.

Book at prinsenhof-delft.nl